Category Archives: SOFT DRINKS AND DIET

People are piling on the pounds and one of the many reasons for this is soda. Whether you indulge in bottles, glasses or cans of liquid, drinking soda is a poor choice if you want to remain slim and healthy. The body requires two forms of nutrients in order to care for itself. These are macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients are composed of three energy giving food sources; protein, carbohydrates and fat as well as fibre and water which give little energy in the case of fibre and none in the case of water. Further to macronutrients, the body requires micronutrients in smaller doses; these are the vitamins and minerals we ingest via our food sources. Water is a vital micronutrient as our body is around 70% water. Although water has no nutritional content, our bodies need it for absolutely everything. We cannot survive without water for 1 week but we can live without food for about 1 month; that’s how important water is! It’s responsible for everything from keeping our skin, hair and eyes glowing to keeping our internal body hydrated and helping flush out waste produce. We are supposed to drink around 2 litres of water per day (this translates to around 8 glasses) but many substitute good old fashioned and also calorie free water with soda! It’s obvious why… soda tastes good especially if you aren’t a fan of waters plainer flavour. Unfortunately soda is laden with calories. If you’re drinking a can of soda every day you’re getting around 100-200 calories or even more per can. If you drink 8 sodas a day to substitute your water intake, you’ll have drunk close to or over your daily recommended allowance of calories for one day! Water, as a macronutrient, is healthy and vital for the body but soda has absolutely no nutritional value. Soda literally makes us gain weight. It tastes good but aside from its taste, it does nothing for us at all and one of the worst habits to indulge in for your health and waistline is regularly supping on sodas. Here are a few reasons why sodas are so bad for our bodies: 1. A typical soft drink has around 10 teaspoons of sugar in it. All that sugar is terrible for teeth and also helps the skin to age poorly. The body can’t get much hydration from soda. 2. So much sugar can also cause our blood sugar level to spike. We want to keep our blood sugar levels at an even keel because when it spikes, it can lead to Type 2 Diabetes. 3. Soda can lead to osteoporosis; a condition where the bones become brittle and break in old age. 4. Many sodas, particularly diet substitutes contain aspartame which is surrounded by controversy. Aspartame has been connected to so many health issues; it’s almost a horror story. Everything from brain tumours to seizures has been linked to aspartame! 5. Drinking soda regularly is a short cut to obesity due to the gargantuan amount of empty calories! So what can you do if you’re a soda lover? 1 Drink soda less. Have a can a week instead of every day. 2 Drink flavoured water; add lemon, cucumber or berries.